empty pockets

So apparently, South Africa is much bigger than I thought. Maybe I just don't know enough about geography but there is like no way that Lyndsay and I can get to Kruger... We would have to fly to Jo'burg and that just is not going to happen with the cost of flights. Our round trip flight is going to total up to be around $2000 maybe even slightly more; a one way trip is like 2/3 of that cost..so two one way flights and then one little one in the middle from Cape town to Johannesburg is just a lot more money than I can afford. I am already really strapped for cash. Fundraising has sort of come to a dead end and I feel like I have exhausted all of my resources. At this point, I am most likely going to have to put about $3000 on my "back up" credit card that I never use--not a thrilling prospect, I must say. I will do it though because it is more important to me, to experience this and to learn regardless of the cost. I am a good $60,000 in the hole already so whats another $3000?? Good logic right?

Anyway, aside from the mini financial crisis rant, we ARE going to do some sightseeing and traveling, it just will have to be on the western side of the country where we can ensure that we'll be back to Cape Town for our flight back without needing an additional flight. We are looking at mini safaris and packaged travel deals because the other issue is transportation. If we plan our own adventure with different locations each day for a week, how are we going to GET to those places? Clearly, renting a car and gallivanting around a foreign country isn't going to be affordable, safe, or practical. With those package deals, transportation is already included in it so we can be sure that we will be able to get to the places we need to be. I'm planning on starting on some reading about South Africa. Cross Cultural Solutions offers some recommended reading (which I can't afford to buy...) so I am going to check out the library to see what MSU has to offer about South Africa and Cape Town, in particular.

On a non-African note: I'm going to be in Chicago next year!! Steve and I were both accepted to the internship placement there. We will be doing our student teaching at a high school in Hyde Park. I'm really looking forward to it. It seems like I have so much to look forward to right now and it's hard to focus on the here and now. At the same time, it's like I feel sort of frozen in the here and now. It doesn't feel like I am actually graduating in 3.5 months...it's crazy! I feel like I truly understand what people mean when they say that time flies. I never really bought into the cliche before but now, it's left me wondering, how did I get here so fast? I can't wait to see what both Africa and Chicago have to offer and what I can gain from each of these new experiences.